Collecting a Deposit Instead of Full Payment

Sometimes you don't need the full service fee up front — just enough to make sure a customer is serious about the booking. Vendi Today supports collecting a partial deposit at the time of booking instead of the full amount, with the remainder handled afterward.

Setting up a deposit

In the calendar's payment settings, set the amount you want to collect as a deposit rather than the full service price. The customer pays that amount to secure the slot, and you collect the remaining balance separately — in person, through an invoice, or through the calendar's payment tab once the appointment is complete.

Where deposits make sense

Deposits work well for higher-ticket services, rentals, or bookings where no-shows are costly — the deposit gives the customer a reason to keep the appointment, and gives you some protection if they don't. For lower-cost, quick-turnaround services, requiring full payment up front is usually simpler than tracking a remaining balance afterward.

The recurring appointment limitation

One important restriction to keep in mind: partial deposits are not supported on recurring appointment series. If a calendar is set up for recurring bookings and also collects payment, it can only collect the full amount for each occurrence — not a reduced deposit. If your business relies on deposits, keep deposit-based calendars separate from calendars used for recurring series.

Good to know: Because the remaining balance isn't automatically collected by the deposit flow, build a clear internal process for how and when your team follows up to collect it — otherwise it's easy for outstanding balances to slip through the cracks.